Color Photography – Page 163 – LLOYD'S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY LLC

Crossing After The Storm

Last night the wind howled across the ridge line knocking over trees like a child throwing a tantrum. Bright flashes of lightning splashed across the sky and thunder rattled the windows. My little buddy Scout alternated between cuddling with my wife and I for protection against noise.

Almost as suddenly as it started the thunder faded away over the mountains and the three of us sat by candlelight listening to the rain as it slowed to a halt. As the sound of rain hitting roof gave way to the chorus of frogs I was struck by how peaceful the night had become without the noise of technology. With the only light being that of an LED candle in the hallway we soon drifted off to sleep.

The next morning the electricity grid was still down and that means going to town for coffee. As I stepped outside the mountains full of songbirds and that special fresh scent that comes only after a thunderstorm. The storm left behind a mist the clung to the landscape and made everything look magical. This was the perfect opportunity for me to get out with my gear and visit one of my favorite subjects to photograph. The curved trestle bridge between Alloy and Deepwater West Virginia. As I carefully step beyond the foliage in full view of the river and the bridge. The azure sky was broken up by the remnant of the storm. The clouds are no longer dark and angry and seem to be drawn beyond the mist covered mountain in the background. Below the river runs high and muddy but otherwise the is flat and soothing. The long curved bridge draws my eyes forward into the land of the Adena where it said that ancient giants sleep beneath the forest in halls of stone. I have taken several shots of the bridge and while Fayette County West Virginia has a world famous bridge this one rivals it’s beauty.

Like the rivers and streams of my Appalachian Mountains I can’t really seem to stay in one place. I take several shots from multiple cameras and it’s time to make my way towards the big blue truck parked on the edge of the road and look for the next destination.

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Lloyds Lens Photography web link — Click here to visithttps://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

Did you know that I also do portraits by appointment? If you’re interested in a portrait session either message me on Facebook or Use the Contact form. The YouTube link below takes you one of my slideshows.

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Wild Geranium & Morning Quiet Time

Color Photography

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Wild Geranium In Soft Rain” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the article.

The rain drizzles down softly into last year’s fallen leaves as I carefully place my foot into the underbrush. The little spot on the edge of my yard has become a sanctuary for the native Appalachian wildflowers. The pinkish purple bloom of the wild geranium stands out against the dull brown of the forest floor. It’s a cool spring morning and the tiny droplets catch the light enough to shimmer like little gemstones. The sound of the water gently flowing through the hills is broken only by the occasional call of the cardinals in the distance. The breeze carries the scent of wood smoke from the neighbors place upstream.

It’s a blessing in and of itself to be able to start the day with a tranquil moment and center yourself.

I often wonder where all the great thinkers are today. We have advanced science and technology that is on the edge of what was fiction when I was young. Just the internet alone was a fantasy straight from the silver screen. We have all the power and knowledge at our fingertips in the form of a little black box that holds the some knowledge of mankind as a whole but do we ever actually think? Do we ever take time to contemplate our place in the world? Do we ever get a chance for more than collapsing in a chair in a state of total exhaustion while the t.v. or the internet does our thinking for us?

There’s definitely a difference between a full life and a busy life. If you don’t have a chance to catch at least a few minutes of quiet time then one has to wonder if life is just busy. I have made a commitment to steal back at least five minutes per day to take a deep breath and push away the outside world with all if it’s distraction and frustration. And, I feel so much more fulfillment in my day.

The drizzle slows to an eventual stop and the forest smells fresh and clean even with wood smoke from the neighbors fire. I feel renewed as a step back into my yard and cross the wet grass to start my day.

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https://youtu.be/FDcrY6w8oY8

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A Walk Down Glade Creek Trail.

Color Photography

Titled Glade Creek Falls 81608 and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the article

Behind Glade Creek Grist Mill at Babcock State Park is one of the peaceful trails in West Virginia. Tonight I want to take you on a quiet walk down the trail for a few minutes.

Titled “Glade Creek Grist Mill Vertical Panoramic 42918”. Available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the article.

As I walk down the cool forest pathway I can hear the roar of the falls just around the next bend. I slow my pace a bit when I notice the clear water running through the little drainage that flows into Glade Creek in Fayette County West Virginia. A red eft lumbers fearlessly across the soft bed of moss. He knows that his bright colors are warning to would be predators that he’s a bad choice for a menu item. The eft is the juvenile form of the newt and he’s making his way to a quiet pool of water. Soon reddish orange skin will turn a cool green leaving only red spots all along the length of his body. His tail will flatten out into a powerful propulsion device that gives him mastery of the murky depths. My brother and I would catch them out of the ponds and pools and pretend that they were pet alligators. Eventually they would curl themselves backwards and expose the bright yellow belly. The first time I saw that I thought for sure that I had killed it. I tossed the newt back into the water and it came back to life and dove to the deepest part of the pond. FAKER! I called out in disbelief. Little did I know at the time that they were just daring someone to take a bite out of their toxic skin. As it turns out they were predators in their own right. Among the other things that they hunt are mosquitoe larvae. With that in mind I leave the little eft to enjoy his bed of deep green moss and continue on to the falls.

I’m not far from the sound of the water when something black and yellow zips past my head. It startled me at first. But when looked closer I discovered that I had been faked out again.

The Dogwood Borer is a type of clear wing moth that mimics Yellowjackets

What I thought was a Yellowjacket had an odd looking stinger. It also had a strangely thick waist for a member of the wasp family. It was a moth! This type of moth is a member of clear wing moth family. Biologically they’re a very interesting group of moths that are active in daylight. Horticulturally, they are problematic. The larvae of the one pictured here ( The Dogwood Borer) bore into trees and feed on the inner bark. They’re also known to carry fungal disease that can devastate valuable crop trees like pecans. I was barely able to focus one this one when took of and flew away.

It wasn’t long before I could smell the mists coming off of the falls. I stepped over to the edge of the trail and saw the silky flow framed by the leaves of the trees. The falls seem to be a collection of hundreds of tiny little cascades flowing over the rocks like a lace veil. The air surrounding the falls is oxygenated and ionized. The mists carry the scent of the stones that line the creek bed. Several types of songbirds provide the soundtrack for me as I stare through the little window of leaves and branches.

What a wondrous and beautiful world that The Lord has provided for us! And how much does He love us to make us a part of something so wonderful?

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The Skipper Butterfly… Bringer Of Wishes

Color Photography, wildlife

Hello Friends and thank you for your support of my blog. Tonight’s feature image is titled “Wishes On Wings” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the article.

The little butterfly dances through the air and nearly lands on my shoulder before continuing on to the Japanese Honeysuckle. I was reminded of a tale told to me on my first real job in Rock Hill, South Carolina. I worked with an older man who really should have retired from the job long before I was hired. We were ditch diggers. Our job was to keep the ditch on grade and make sure that the it was ready for the pipeline that was to be installed. The hot southern sun and high humidity kept us covered in sweat. For heat safety we took frequent breaks with plenty of water and Gatorade. During a break on a particularly hot day a little skipper like the one in the feature image kept landing on my wet shirt. (Presumably it was after the salt I lost through sweating. ) My workmate looked at me with wide eyes and congratulated me on getting my wish. I was a little confused and asked him what he meant. He explained to me that these butterflies were really angels in disguise and that if one landed on you it means that they were bringing back the wishes that you had made on a dandelion. The longer we worked that day the more the little skippers landed on us and eventually we began to make guesses about which of our wishes was coming true. By the time we finished our shift we figured that we were getting everything that we’d ever wished for. I had never heard of that superstition before but all that guessing made the day go by quickly. It was fun to think about getting everything that we’d wished for.

The older man passed away at the end of that summer and I went back to college. Every time I see one of these skipper butterflies I’m reminded of the man I worked with one summer and all the wishes that were granted by his angels.

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A Mother’s Day Story

Color Photography

Hello Friends and thank you for your support of my blog. Tonight’s feature image is titled “Flowers For Mommy” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the article.

Tiny hands work diligently in the warm morning sun. Softly, a little voice hums a tune as each daisy is carefully selected and placed in the repurposed soda bottle. The arrangement is a little crowded because the more flowers that are included means a bigger “I Love You”. The little feet march proudly back into the house carrying the gift.

She was awake and watching everything from the bedroom window but when she heard the singing out in hallway she crawled back under the covers and pretended to be asleep. The song was more or less the tune of happy birthday but the lyrics were based on phrase “I Love Mommy”.

As the song ended she was presented with the bundle of daisies which were displayed in the soda bottle on the kitchen table. Before they faded she pressed them between the pages of a book and kept them with the rest of her special memories.

Down through the years there was many gifts. The little feet walked out into a life of their own and the tiny hands developed skills that earned a good living. Mother’s Day gifts included nice jewelry and fancy meals. But always paled in comparison to the empty soda bottle of wildflowers. On the page of her memory book where the pressed daisies had been preserved was the words “Nothing says “I Love You like daisies in the hands of a child”.

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